Kolkata: A 14-year-old schoolgirl was allegedly molested by an auto-rickshaw driver in Phoolbagan. Following a complaint by the girl’s family, Phoolbagan police registered a criminal case against the auto driver and launched a manhunt to arrest him.The incident took place around 6.30 pm on Wednesday, near the Phoolbagan crossing, when the minor was returning home to Narkeldanga after dropping her brother off at a tuition class in Maniktala.According to cops, the girl boarded the auto at Kankurgachhi. Since the rear passenger seat was already occupied by three commuters, the driver instructed the teenager to sit next to him.“The girl stated in her complaint that during the journey, the driver touched her inappropriately,” a senior officer of Kolkata Police said. Just before she was about to alight at the Phoolbagan crossing, the driver allegedly subjected her to obscene and indecent behaviour.Terrified by the sudden assault, the minor broke down, rushed back to her home, and narrated the entire ordeal to her mother. The family subsequently approached the local police station to lodge the complaint.The police have registered a case under relevant sections of the law, including stringent provisions protecting minors. Officers are currently scanning CCTV footage from nearby traffic intersections around the Phoolbagan crossing to identify the registration number of the vehicle and track down the absconding driver.
